Brownie, DJ, and Rosie are the names of dogs that Sarah Wessler knows by heart, but she couldn’t tell you the names of any of their owners, even though she sees them at least once a week at the dog run. She says this is all part of the experience of going to the dog run.
“You just call people by their dog’s names,” Wessler said. “Being here is all about the dogs.”
Wessler lives in the Bronx but usually takes her dog, Mancha, to Jemmy’s Run since it is closer to her boyfriend’s apartment and Mancha has made friends there. Wessler says that she runs into people on the train that she has met at the dog park and often talks with some of the regular visitors, but doesn’t make a point of it to meet up with them outside of the park.
“What happens at the dog park stays at the dog park.”
While some parks don’t allow dogs at all, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation has designated three different types of dog parks in the city—leashed areas, designated off-leash areas, and dog runs. Dog runs are large fenced in areas within larger parks where dogs are free to run around unleashed. Jemmy’s Run at Madison Square Park is a dog run where all types of relationships are developed between people and dogs.
Sometimes the freedom of all the different dogs together can cause problems. Jay Fortunato, who lives in the Flatiron District, says his dog Linus enjoys coming to get exercise at the dog park but since Linus is a small dog, he has had encounters with large dogs that haven’t gone well.
“A few weeks ago a larger dog bit Linus on the back of the neck and sat on him,” Fortunato said. “I had to fight the big dog off.”
Taylor Defelice, of Murray Hill, brings her two dogs Hershey and Ruby to Jemmy’s Run for them to interact with other dogs. Ruby is a therapy dog and spends time in hospitals with children who are sick, so Defelice likes to get her out to get exercise. The only challenge Defelice has faced with bringing her dogs to the park is having their toys stolen by other dogs, but says the overall experience is a positive one.
“Dog parks are good for the dogs and good for people,” Defelice said. “They help promote dog ownership.”
Coming to see the dogs at the park is the closest Nuttika Mahamontre can get to having a dog. Her apartment complex doesn’t allow pets, so at least once or twice a week Mahamontre comes to Madison Square Park to see the dogs. For her, it is a type of therapy.
“I feel more relaxed seeing these dogs play,” Mahamontre, of Manhattan, said. “This is what makes me feel better.”
“Dogs are the one thing we all have in common here,” Wessler said, and Mahanmontre agreed.
“Even if they don’t have one of their own, everyone here has a love for dogs.”
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